Caregiving

Is Prolonging Life Necessary at all Costs?

In the third of our “Ask the Doctor” video interviews, ILC-CEO Robert N. Butler, M.D. talks about what happens when elders and/or their caregivers must make tough decisions as to what life-prolonging measures, if any, they want taken when faced with a life-threatening situation. Dr. Butler advises that the decision as to when one dies should, under ideal conditions, be a mutual one between the individual, his or her doctor, and the family.

And fortunately, he says, that's what actually happens about 70% of the time. But in some situations, an individual may not have an advance directive and/or health proxy in place. To avoid uncertainty, he says, try to ensure that your estate has defined the terms as to exactly what you would want to happen, and under what circumstances.

Watch the short video, below, to hear Dr. Butler’s advice on the subject.

This video is presented courtesy of Big Think.com, a new Web site where you can access interviews with today's leading thinkers.

Keywords: caregiving, end-of-life, advance directives, health proxy

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